A corporate executive, on holiday in a small, Andaman sea-coast village, was strolling by the docks and taking in the local color. He complimented one fisherman on the quality of his catch.
“How long did it take you to get all those fish?” he asked.
“Not very long,” answered the Tribal. “An hour or two.”
“Then why didn’t you stay out longer to catch more?”
Shrugging, the Tribal explained that his catch was sufficient to meet his needs, and those of his family.
The executive asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a nap with my wife. In the evening, I go to the village to see my friends, dance a little, play the drums, and sing songs. I have a full life.”
The executive said, “Well I have an MBA from IIM and I’m sure I can help you. You should start by fishing longer every day. You’ll catch extra fish that you can sell. With the revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring you, you can buy a second boat and a third one, and so on, until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can ship fish to markets all around the world. In time, you can then move to Mumbai to direct your huge enterprise.”
“How long would that take?” asked the Tribal.
“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the executive.
“And after that?”
“When your business gets really big, you can sell stock and make millions!” exclaimed the executive with zeal.
“Millions? Really? And after that?”
“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a small village near the coast, sleep late, play with your grandchildren, catch a few fish, take a nap with your wife, and spend your evenings singing, dancing, and playing the drums with your friends.” said the executive, realization dawning upon his face.
The point of this story is not to tell you to work for only an hour or two a day. No. It is necessary to work hard and work smart in life. What the story perhaps doesn’t portray is the difficulty and the work the fisherman has put in to know where the fish were and how to catch them efficiently and so on.
However, the point here is: Work hard, enjoy every moment. Do not live for tomorrow. Make today just as beautiful. Make time for your family and for your loved ones as you continue to batter hard upon the doors of success. In your polarised march towards your goal, forget not friends and family, without whom success when achieved might mean nothing.